Tamil Nadu minister quits after expose

Chennai, May 14 (IANS) Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Social Welfare A.A. Poongothai resigned Wednesday after telephone intercepts indicated she purportedly spoke to a senior police official to shield one of her relatives facing corruption charges. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was yet to accept her resignation. He told the assembly the matter would be discussed in the cabinet later and “an appropriate decision (would be) taken later”.

Poongothai admitted speaking to S.K. Upadhyay, director of vigilance and anti-corruption, after Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy Monday played the tapes before reporters.

She, however, denied interceding on behalf of the relative, and said “it was a routine official conversation”.

A similar expose was done by a local newspaper a month ago giving excerpts of a reported conversation between Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy and the same police official.

While Karunanidhi defended the official, he also ordered a probe to find out how the excerpts reached the newspaper.